The 2018 AMA Annual Meeting was full of discussion on the big topics facing the medical community and the country. U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, MD, a special guest at the meeting, gave a speech encouraging AMA members to lead the nation in a civil discussion on the pressing issues of our day, such as gun violence, substance-use disorder and health equity.

Dr. Adams, an AMA delegate, encouraged physicians to look "upstream for root causes and preventative solutions" to substance-use disorders and other health issues. Noting that he joined the AMA 20 years ago, he said that the experience "lit a fire," helping him to develop into a physician leader.

In that spirit, physicians at the meeting backed common-sense gun safety measures, sought to boost affordability and competition in ACA marketplaces, adopted policy that puts organizational muster behind achieving health equity in the U.S. health system, committed to integrating precision medicine into alternative payment models, and declared that drug shortages are a matter of national security.

Visit the Advocating for Patients and Physicians topic page for more coverage from the Annual Meeting.

• June 15, 2018: National Advocacy Update 
• June 15, 2018: State Advocacy Update 
• June 15, 2018: Judicial Advocacy Update